DIOGENES: In Search Of An Honest Politician!

DIOGENES invites you to pull up a chair on this rainy day and read
posts from around the world.
The writing may lean to the right...but that's the way Diogenes wants it!
You may leave your opinion,
but Diogenes rarely changes his! WELCOME!

Friday, August 4, 2017

Trump's Unintended Consequences: Driving the Media Insane!

Most Trump supporters have a list of reasons for supporting him. America first, stopping illegal immigration, economic resurgence, better trade deals, nominating conservative judges, taking the country back – any and all of the issues he championed will do. Those are part of the great agenda, and he has actually moved the ball forward on most issues he fought for.
Less commented on but every bit as important are those things you might call the unintended, and simultaneously very surprising, consequences of Trump's presidency.
These start with the media exposing themselves. Most of us knew about left-leaning media bias, but the fawning press given to Saint Barack got a lot of us to see just how bad this problem was. Sean Hannity was entirely accurate in 2008, pronouncing that journalism is dead.
Good historians are likely writing about what happened to the media. Recently, Sean Hannity interviewed Camille Paglia, left-leaning feminist. Here is what she had to say about the media's fall:
It's obscene. It's outrageous. Okay? It shows that the Democrats are nothing now but words and fantasy and hallucination and Hollywood. Okay? There's no journalism left. What's happened – okay – to The New York Times? What's happened to the major networks? This is an outrage.
I'm a professor of media studies, in addition to a professor of humanities, okay? And I think it's absolutely grotesque the way my party has destroyed journalism. Right now, it's going to take decades to recover from this atrocity that's going on, where the news media have turned themselves over into the most childish fraternity, kind of buffoonish behavior.
Thirty years to recover? Awesome. It's a welcome unintended consequence of Trump's presidency, the passing of media charlatans. Marvelous indeed.

Samantha Bee Discovers Many Iraqi Kurds Love Donald Trump!

The 'Full Frontal' host went to Iraqi Kurdistan and found a family who calls their baby son "Trump."
Samantha Bee traveled to the Kurdistan region of Iraq and unexpectedly stumbled upon a slew of Trump fans.
"They love Trump," Bee said in surprise, after speaking to multiple Kurds about the current president. “Are we in the middle of making Samantha Bee’s first, and probably last ever, Trump-positive field piece?” she asked.
Bee said many of the people she interviewed appreciated Trump because he directly armed the Kurds to fight against ISIS. She was still doubtful, wondering aloud if the Kurds "are aware that President Four Loko is just using them as mercenaries in the war against ISIS."
The Full Frontal host asked for opinions on Trump. One man said, "He is a competent leader, not just for America. The whole world needs a Trump."
Bee said she wasn't confident Trump is aware of "what the Kurds are all about."
But one of the men she was speaking with responded, "We are very, very sure that Trump understands the Kurdish nation."
Bee added, "If the one good thing that comes out of the Trump presidency is that he makes the Kurds feel hopeful about their state, that’s one more good thing than I anticipated."
She found one father who has been calling his son "Trump" since the day he was born. Why? "Well, he is angry, very angry, just like him," explained the father with a smile. Baby Trump's mother said, "He beats us with his fists."
(VIDEO-AT-LINK)

While in Iraq, Bee also met a "Bernie bro" whom she enjoyed speaking with so much, she sang a song for him.
"I had to come across the world to meet a Bernie bro who would talk to me without calling me a bitch or a shrill c—, so thank you so much sir," she crooned.

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)

Bee sang another number on Full Frontal on Wednesday. She and her colleagues performed a parody musical about Kris Kobach as a "racist Music Man," after a segment focusing on his time as a lawyer fighting against illegal immigration.
Hamilton's Javier Muñoz made an appearance in the spoof as well.
(VIDEO-AT-LINK)

Sessions DOJ Blocks Sanctuary Cities from Police Assistance Program

Attorney General Jeff Sessions banned sanctuary cities from participating in a federal public safety program. In a statement through the Department of Justice (DOJ), Sessions said sanctuary cities would not be allowed to participate in the Public Safety Partnership program until they prove that they have properly dropped their status and made efforts to reduce violent crimes by illegal aliens.

“By protecting criminals from immigration enforcement, cities and states with so-called ‘sanctuary’ policies make all of us less safe,” Sessions said in the statement. “We saw that just last week, when an illegal alien who had been deported twenty times and was wanted by immigration authorities allegedly sexually assaulted an elderly woman in Portland, a city that refuses to cooperate with immigration enforcement.”
“By forcing police to go into more dangerous situations to re-arrest the same criminals, these policies endanger law enforcement officers more than anyone,” Sessions continued. “The Department of Justice is committed to supporting our law enforcement at every level, and that’s why we’re asking ‘sanctuary’ jurisdictions to stop making their jobs harder.”
...
Under the Public Safety Partnership program, started by Sessions’ DOJ in June, the Justice Department works with local jurisdictions to reduce violent crime in American communities. So far, 12 jurisdictions are members of the program.
There are more than 165 sanctuary cities across the U.S. that protect criminal illegal aliens, despite widespread opposition to the practice.

Inside the gun violence epidemic on Chicago's South Side

Chicago faces an epidemic of gun violence. This year alone, more than 2,100 people have been shot, more than 400 killed.(snip)

Young men on the city's south and west sides told CBS News how easy it is to get illegal guns, and why many never leave their homes without one.
"I know people who can't walk from they house to the store without a gun," said Aaron Murph. "Because people getting killed left and right. It's sad."
"I got shot twice and I could have been gone but I'm still here so, that scar, that's with me, so," said Tyshaun Grant. "It's hell on earth."(snip)
"I'm just doin' this s*** for survival, bro, until I can pull my family and myself in a better predicament to what I need to do," one member said. "We just trying to keep ourselves protected."
Many crews told us they would rather risk the police catching them with a gun than have their rival find them without one.
Asked where he got his .40-caliber gun, he said, "Off the streets, people sell 'em."
"Just like that, that's how easy it is," another man said.
"It's worth it for you to keep these guns?" Diaz asked.
"We felons. You know what I'm saying? Ain't nobody gonna give us no jobs. The cops don't give a f*** about us."
But when asked if innocent people dying by those bullets is worth it, they both said, "No."
"At the end of the day, it ain't worth it. But you got 'em motherf*****s wanna go through a drive by, you know what I'm saying? And some innocent, little sister get shot. Guess what? Them and them guys coming back in. That's how the confrontation is going to keep going."

Here's How Democrats Plan to Destroy President Trump

President Trump has miraculously turned the economy around. Second quarter GDP (Trump’s first full quarter as president) was far ahead of anything produced by Obama; corporate profits are soaring; job growth is phenomenal; the stock market is at all-time highs; the manufacturers optimism index is the highest in history; and the US oil rig count has doubled under Trump.

This is the Democrats worst nightmare. Despite all the chaos and firings in the Trump administration, President Trump is delivering for middle class voters. Americans don’t care about Sean Spicer, Reince Priebus or Anthony Scaramucci. They care about jobs, rising incomes, and their retirement accounts.
Am I right? Ask the DNC. They just commissioned a poll of middle class voters.
It found the middle-class trusts Trump by a whopping 35 points over Democrats to improve the economy. On the initial congressional ballot, middle class voters give Republicans a double-digit victory. Democrats are in deep trouble.
That’s why they have to destroy the Trump presidency. All the big government, Nanny State, establishment frauds who benefit from the gravy train…who benefit from government jobs, contracts, pensions, big spending boondoggles like global warming and Obamacare…are desperate to stop Trump. I’m talking about all of Washington, D.C.

I’m the guy who predicted Trump’s victory when no one else saw it coming. My book, “ANGRY WHITE MALE” predicted the entire Trump phenomenon. I predicted it would look exactly like “Brexit” and it did.
Now I’ve figured out the exact plan Democrats and their allies will use to try to drive Trump from office. It’s brilliant, vicious, devious, genius. Trump’s opponents are baiting him with something so awful…so fraudulent…so vicious…he has no choice but to take the bait. And then they’ll try to hang him with it.
First, they framed Trump with their own scandal. The Democrats are the ones with a Russian scandal. Hillary is the one who sold the uranium to Russia. Hillary is the one with a “play for pay” scheme at the State Department. Hillary is the one who took bribes disguised as charitable donations to her Clinton Foundation in return for access, favors and government contracts.
It was Hillary's campaign manager John Podesta who served on the Board of a green energy company backed by Vladimir Putin and the Russian government.
It was Podesta's brother Tony who got rich by lobbying for a Russian bank.

It was Obama who knew about the attempts by Russia to influence America's elections and did nothing.
So, distract the masses by blaming your Russian scandal on Trump. Then slander and libel him with the mainstream media’s cooperation, using a stream of leaks and unnamed sources.
Then use those same lies and slander literally made up by The New York Times, Washington Post and CNN to justify a "Special Counsel" being named.
Then make sure he’s a big government insider and FOD (Friend of Democrats) with a hatred for Trump. Robert Mueller perfectly fits the bill. Mueller’s law firm has given 99.71% of donations to Democrats. He’s best friends with former FBI Director Comey, who also hates Trump. Then have Mueller name a team of prosecutors who have given all of their political donations to Obama and Hillary.
This is one of the most obscene conflict of interest stories in political history. This is like asking the KKK to investigate the NAACP. This is a conspiracy in plain sight. The fix is in. But of course, the media won’t report it, because they are on the side of the conspiracy.

Then use Mueller, this vicious, conflicted ringer and deep state plant, who hates Trump and does the bidding of the Democratic Party and the entire DC establishment, to frame Trump, break every conflict of interest law, go far beyond any of his legal parameters, go after Trump’s family and lifetime business dealings, and commit massive abuse of power so obscene, that Trump has no choice but to fire him.
Mueller is daring Trump to fire him...egging him on...begging him. Mueller's goal is so obvious it's almost comical. Mueller is dying to be a guest on "Celebrity Apprentice" so he can hear Trump say "YOU'RE FIRED."
Then when Trump inevitably fires Mueller, Democrats and "never-Trumpers" will use the corrupt, biased, Trump-hating, mainstream media to paint Trump as a bad guy with something to hide. They'll paint him as a corrupt, reckless, lawless dictator.
They'll use Trump's legal action (because a president can fire whoever he wants) to foment public outrage; coast to coast protests, civil disobedience, rioting and anarchy; impeachment proceedings; and calls for forced removal from office- for all intents and purposes, a coup against our president.

That kind of unrest in the streets would invariably lead to a loss of confidence among investors and buyers of the U.S. treasury bonds- leading to economic crisis and chaos; stock market crash; dollar crisis; debt crisis; in short, economic collapse.
Then liberals and Trump-haters get to blame it all on Trump.
Democrats know they’ve got to change the narrative- fast. They’ve got to stop Trump’s momentum. They’ve got to blame Trump and frame Trump. They will use the firing of corrupt and conflicted Special Counselor Mueller as the catalyst for all of this.
Trust me- it’s all coming. Get ready for the battle of our lives. I know where I stand. I know where 63 million Trump voters stand. We are relentless. Trump is our hero.
Mr. President, we have your back.

Time for Trump to Get Rid of McMaster

Apparently, President Trump was not aware of the decision by national security adviser H.R. McMaster to grant senior Obama official Susan Rice top-secret security clearance. This disturbing news was revealed by Sara Carter of Circa News, who documents the letter that notified Rice that such powers gave her "unfettered and continuing access to classified information and waiving her 'need-to-know' requirement on anything she viewed or received during her tenure."

Carter asserts that "[t]he undated and unclassified letter from McMaster was sent in the mail to Rice's home. Trump was not aware of the letter or McMaster's decision, according to two Senior West Wing officials and an intelligence official, who spoke to Circa on condition that they not be named."I hereby waive the requirement that you must have a 'need-to-know' to access any classified information contained in items you 'originated, reviewed, signed or received while serving,' as National Security Adviser[.] The letter also states that the 'NSC will continue to work with you to ensure the appropriate security clearance documentation remains on file to allow you access to classified information.'
***SNIP***
According to Rush Limbaugh, "[w]hen McMaster was chosen by Trump to be the national security director, Never Trumpers in the conservative movement and establishmentarians in Washington all celebrated[.] In fact, the establishment Washington loves [McMaster]." That alone should have been a warning sign.
***SNIP***
The kicker is that it was Senator John McCain who recommended McMaster for the position.

have you ever been unfaithful to me?

An elderly couple were having dinner one evening when the husband reached across the table, took his wife's hand in his and said, "Martha, soon we will be married 50 years, and there's something I have to know. In all of these 50 years, have you ever been unfaithful to me?”

Martha replied, "Well Henry, I have to be honest with you. Yes, I've been unfaithful to you on three occasions during these 50 years, but always for a good reason.

Henry was obviously hurt by his wife's confession, but said, "I never suspected. Can you tell me what you mean by 'good reasons?'

Martha said, "The first time was shortly after we were married, and we were about to lose our little house because we couldn't pay the mortgage. Do you remember that evening I went to see the banker and the next day he notified you that the loan would be extended?”
Henry recalled the visit to the banker and said, "I can forgive you for that. You saved our home, but what about the second time?"

Martha asked, "Do you remember when you were so sick, but we didn't have the money to pay for the heart surgery you needed? Well, I went to see your doctor one night and, if you recall, he did the surgery at no charge"

"I recall that," said Henry. "And you did it to save my life, so of course I can forgive you for that. Now tell me about the third time"
"All right," Martha said. "So do you remember when you ran for president of your golf club, and you needed 53 more votes?”

Major Acosta Fail

On Wednesday, CNN's Jim Acosta unwittingly demonstrated the difference between an unbiased, truth-seeking media and a biased, hostile and advocacy media.

We need a watchdog press in this country, but its proper function is to report the news, not become the story. Acosta had displayed his obnoxiousness before, but he descended to a new low this week.
Earlier in the day, President Trump had appeared with Sens. Tom Cotton and David Perdue to endorse their immigration bill, called the RAISE Act. The bill was the major focus of the White House press briefing, and presidential adviser Stephen Miller outlined its key elements.
Miller's presentation was hijacked by Acosta, who is apparently on a crusade to establish himself as America's conscience and chief protector against President Trump.
We've all seen the give-and-take of White House news conferences, and they sometimes involve feisty exchanges between the administration's spokesperson and members of the media. But there is a difference between a journalist respectfully challenging the White House representative and a militant advocate posing as a journalist and disrespectfully interrupting, disrupting, speechifying and trying to make himself the star of the show.
Acosta put on a clinic on how not to behave in such settings and illustrated why ordinary Americans are so distrustful of the mainstream liberal media.
The proposed legislation would mark a significant overhaul of the nation's legal immigration policy. Currently, our system substantially burdens taxpayers and the economy. More than half of immigrant households receive welfare benefits, whereas only 30 percent of native households receive welfare. Existing policies discourage assimilation and hardly incentivize learning English.
Moreover, the system has attracted low-skilled and unskilled immigrants into the country. According to the White House, only 1 in 15 immigrants enter the nation because of their skills. The overwhelming majority of the 1 million immigrants who enter each year are low-skilled or unskilled.
The RAISE Act addresses these problems directly, by replacing the permanent employment-visa structure with a skills-based system. Applicants would be considered based on their education, ability to speak English, high-paying job offers, past achievements and entrepreneurial initiative. Canada and Australia use similar merit-based approaches.
While continuing to prioritize immediate family members of U.S. residents, the bill would end preferences for extended family members and adult children. It would also limit the number of refugees who get permanent resident status to 50,000 per year.
This is a serious proposal and one consistent with President Trump's campaign promises on immigration. It would benefit America and our culture and would reduce the welfare burden imposed under the current system.
Unsurprisingly, certain liberal and mainstream media members are none too pleased with the plan. Acosta made that quite clear, treating the White House press briefing more like an inquisition than a fact-finding opportunity.
Sneeringly, Acosta attacked Miller, painting the proposal as racist and discriminatory. He implied the policy would violate the welcoming spirit of the Statue of Liberty toward the tired and poor of other nations.
Acosta seemed outraged that the bill would require immigrants to speak English, saying it suggests the administration is trying to engineer the racial and ethnic flow of people into the country.
Miller did not accept this claim passively, countering that it was one of the most outrageous, ignorant, insulting and foolish things Acosta had ever said.
Acosta was particularly hostile and rude, making pointed statements masked as questions, refusing to allow Miller the courtesy of responding and repeatedly interrupting him. It was as if Acosta imagined himself on the CNN debate show "Crossfire," forgot to do his homework and assumed he would be declared the winner if he monopolized the exchange with rudeness, arrogance, volume and ignorance.
A less insolent human being, after having thus misbehaved, would be repentant and wish he could erase the horrific episode. Not so with Acosta, who, after reflecting, doubled down in a discussion with Wolf Blitzer, saying the "White House has an unhealthy fixation on what I call the three M's — the Mexicans, the Muslims and the media. Their policies tend to be crafted around bashing one of those three groups, and we just see it time and again."
As a self-righteous liberal, Acosta simply must impugn conservatives in the administration every time he gets a chance. So twisted is he that he apparently believes that those who support assimilation and a common language are bigots. Unless you promote open borders and Balkanization, you must hate people of different ethnicities.
Given such toxic biases, it's no wonder Americans rarely have good-faith, constructive debates on pressing issues. With such misguided finger-pointing, it's no wonder most people are appalled at the monolithic mainstream media.
I don't ordinarily use the term "fake news," but there was nothing remotely authentic about Acosta's disgraceful performance and even less that resembled an unbiased approach to the facts.
I sincerely hope that Acosta and his like-minded colleagues continue in this posture, further exposing themselves as the preening, demagogic leftist partisans they are.

Liberals can't handle the Asian factor in affirmative action

The big surprise in the study was that Asians had to score significantly higher than whites, as well as blacks and Hispanics. Despite having a higher average SAT score, Asians have lower odds of admission than do "comparable whites."

Take away those inequities and Asian enrollment would do what it did at Caltech in California, where racial preferences are outlawed. In 1992, Asian enrollment was 25%. In 2013, it was 43%. According to Students for Fair Admission, an anti-affirmative action group, during the same period, Asian enrollment at Harvard, a staunch practitioner of affirmative action, went slightly downward, from 19% to 18%.

Liberals can't absorb the Asian factor. It doesn't fit the whites vs. people of color setup. What is most frustrating to liberals is that advocates can't point to Asians as victimizers of blacks and Hispanics to justify the unequal treatment. The old argument of compensation-for-past-abuses doesn't apply to them, only to whites.

LA made $1.3B in illegal immigrant welfare payouts in just 2 years

Illegal immigrant families received nearly $1.3 billion in Los Angeles County welfare money during 2015 and 2016, nearly one-​quarter of the amount spent on the county’s entire needy population, according to data obtained by Fox News.

The data was obtained from the county Department of Public Social Services -- which is responsible for doling out the benefits -- and gives a snapshot of the financial costs associated with sanctuary and related policies.
The sanctuary county of Los Angeles is an illegal immigration epicenter, with the largest concentration of any county ​in the nation, according to a study from the Migration Policy Institute. ​The county also allows illegal immigrant parents with children born in the United States to seek welfare and food stamp benefits. Robert Rector, a Heritage Foundation senior fellow who has written extensive studies on poverty and illegal immigration, said the costs represent “the tip of the iceberg.”
He said the costs of education, police and fire, medical, and subsidized housing can total $24,000 per year in government spending per family, much more than would be paid in taxes.
“They get $3 in benefits for every $1 they spend,” Rector said.
The Trump presidency’s hardline immigration policies, though, may be playing some role in curtailing the population seeking welfare payments in recent months. The same stats show Los Angeles County is expected to dole out $200 million less this year than in 2016, and several thousand fewer families are collecting benefits. “The number of entrants nationwide is going down. The population is static if not shrinking,” Rector said. The welfare benefit data from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services shows:

John McCain’s Right Mind Has Always Been Wrong

John McCain's latest seemingly irrational remarks make it seem as if he's not in his right mind, but that's not really the case. It's just that McCain's right mind has always been wrong.

The Democrat Party left him. – West Virginia Governor Big Jim Justice announced yesterday that he will be changing his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican. This move is most likely motivated by simple political survival instincts, as Donald Trump won the state in 2016 by an enormous margin over Hillary Clinton. Justice’s shift means that the GOP now controls 34 of the 50 governor’s offices in the country, and controls both the governorship and legislatures in 26 of 50 states. This is the legacy of the abuses of the Obama years. Thanks, Barack!Et tu, Joe? – One can only wonder how much longer it will take WVA’s Senator Joe Manchin to make a similar political calculation. Manchin is without doubt the most moderate Democrat in the senate today, and would likely vote with the Republicans well over half the time were he left to his own devices and not often held hostage to hardcore partisan politics. He’d better think fast, since he’s up for re-election next year in what has become one of the reddest red states in the country since his last election bid in 2012, thanks mainly to public reaction against Barack Obama’s aggressive efforts to kill the state’s coal industry.
Are we past the Senatorial trading deadline? – Speaking of party switchers, nominally Republican Sen. From the News Media John McCain told the Arizona Republic on Thursday that he is in talks with one party’s senate leader about reviving the whole Gang of 8 Immigration “Reform” (i.e. open borders and amnesty) plan! Of course, that party leader is Chuck Schumer, not Mitch McConnell. Hey, here’s an idea, how about the Republicans just offer to trade John McCain for Joe Manchin, and call it even? At least then, both men would be inhabiting their natural environments. McCain logic 101. – Oh, but the Senator From the News Media wasn’t done. He also has decided that the whole 16 year ongoing fiasco in Afghanistan is all the fault of …wait for it…DONALD TRUMP! Yes, Senator, because everything was always great in Afghanistan for the 15 years prior to January 20, right? My goodness.
By the way, if you are sitting there thinking that McCain’s latest bits of mendacity might mean that he is not in his right mind due to his fight against a very aggressive form of brain cancer, think again. This is McCain in his right mind – it’s just that his right mind has always been wrong.